According to a recent study featured on Science Daily, it’s important for fathers to be there for their children, especially for their sons who usually depend on a male role model during their growing up years.

Researchers led by Jianghong Li from the WZB Berlin Social Science Center analyzed data on 1,400 Australian children and found that 19 percent of fathers worked for 55 hours or more while their kids were at age five, while 20 percent worked similar hours while their kids were at age eight. That is approximately 10 hours or more per day.

They then found that sons seemed to be more affected by the absence of their fathers than daughters. Boys whose fathers worked for more than 10 hours a day were more prone to delinquency and aggression compared with those whose fathers spent more time at home.

This goes to show that although fathers need to work for their families, it’s also important for them to spend time with their children and work together with their partners for effective parenting.

(Photo by Emilio Labrador via Flickr Creative Commons)